Nameless Rain
by Nirianne
Summary: Post '07 Movie - An unnamed girl thought she found sanctuary stumbling upon a police car. What she didn't expect was this police car had sin written all over it. The past proves haunting... doesn't it? R&R!
1. Hollow

**A/N: **Would you believe that this was part was a dream? I donno, I'm just depressed and might as well get it out of my head.

**Note:** This is a revised edition from the previous. Some details were edited out and some were added.

**Disclaimer:** Hasbro owns everything. I own what I create.

**Chapter 1: Hollow**

The night was cold, dark, moonless with the wind breathing vigorously into every crevasse the little city had; it was the type of city with death spelt on walls and despair on its sidewalks. Light droplets of rain made their way onto the fractured, old cement. In the same time, those droplets of rain ran down the face of a young, broken woman who leaned by the wall and gasped for air. A hand was placed on her heart while the other wiped away the tears of the sky and her own bleeding tears. The young girl was frightened as shadows danced on the walls as cars roared by. Gathering herself once more, she pushed herself off the wall, commanded her legs to move as fast as they could… to escape from this dreadful place. She wanted to talk to somebody—anybody that was willing to help her out of this uncertain predicament. This was not Mission City; this was a city far into the desert where it was almost forgotten by the rest of America. The city was infested with crime, prostitution and the works which made the city true to its name: Mortis. She ran though alleys, stepped in every puddle and even fell, face first into shrapnel. She didn't care; she quickly picked herself up and ran. With each step, she turned around hoping the shadows had lost her. She heaved, coughed and even swore but she knew, she had to escape before her clothes would be ripped and she forced on to her back. She had experienced it before and hopefully, she wouldn't need to experience it again.

She continued to run, forcing every bit of energy into those strides escaping the evil from behind. Running away from home was already hard enough but it only got worse when she mingled with the wrong type of crowd along with the wrong type of job. She knew, running through the heavy sheets of rain, pushing every droplet aside that she needed to live or die trying. With every step, she cursed everybody that was apart of her life until they all betrayed her; sold her out just to pay the god damn rent. The physical and mental abuse was visible on her face as she cringed thinking about those unwanted memories evaporating from the back of her mind.

Coming to a complete halt, her eyes adjusted to the vehicle parked in front of her, motionless with raindrops slid down the monstrosity.

"_Thank god a cop car." _She thought, forcing her thin legs to move again even though they begged for her to stop.

Her fingers opened the door without a second thought. She curled in the back seat, panting from the tiredness that finally settled into her lungs. She believed she was safe, until she heard a clicking sound. She bolted up, about to attack with verbal abuses but then she realized; there was no one in the driver's seat or the seat beside it. Her guts began to twist inside her, forming unbreakable knots while her heart seemed to beat slowly with each second passing by.

"What the hell?" was all she managed from her ghostly white lips.

A hologram of a man appeared with a smile knotted onto his face, "Boo."


	2. When Eyes Water

**Chapter 2: When Eyes Water**

Fists of rain collided against the car frightening the live bait within. _What the hell do I do?! _She saw sitting in the driver's seat was a man, who appeared out of _nowhere_ and stared into her brown eyes. She could feel her soul withdrawing from the window of her eyes. If her legs could give way now, now would be the time. She swallowed hard and tried to make sense of the situation. A hand crawled up her arm as she pinched herself. The jolt of pain surged through her arm. She bit her lip. _Fine, this isn't a dream… a nightmare at best._ She felt as if she were going to be torn up into indistinguishable pieces and left for dead. _Dead?_ _How many times did I cheat death? Why would I be afraid now?_

She sank deeper into the seat; the doors were locked with voices of the sky silenced her cries… and she sat with a ghost. Her left hand slithered to the handle, grasping it, prying it open but all was in vain. Pulling it a little harder didn't seem to help. Maybe, she thought, if she played along with this _thing_ it would just let her go resuming her life down a path of nothingness. Suddenly, the car shook tossing her from side to side until the door swing open sending the poor girl crashing outside into the unforgiving storm. She didn't say anything except crawl onto her knees touching her scrapped chin; blood mixing with rain.

"_This is all a bad dream," _she thought trying to lighten up the situation. _"Nothing could be this bad… I've been in worse…"_

She turned around and the parked vehicle was gone but was substituted with a man in dark uniform, blazing red eyes piercing hers. They felt like arrows shooting at her constantly preventing her from escape. She wiped the rain out of her eyes hoping her imagination wasn't at the circus but what she saw was a man in front of her advancing towards her but each step he took, the puddles didn't ripple. _At all._ She inched backwards with her hands divided waters in the puddles; she stared and bit her lower lip. Her breathing too, slow down bit by bit; besieged by fear. The man in the dark uniform took another step closer as rain showered down his head, hair covering those blood red jewels. Medium built he _was_ intimidating probably standing at around six feet and biceps magnified by the rain.

"What's your name?" he spoke gruffly overpowered the screams of the sky.

"The hell would you like to know?!" she screamed, picked up a rock and threw it.

It tapped him on his chest but that didn't bother him, "Tell me your name, human."

"Screw you!"

She took off. Her hair was pasted in her face while the wind coerced her in the wrong direction but she pushed through trying to escape. She thought her mind had completely lost it imagining a man running after her in the storm. She wondered what if this was all a dream? A dream that she would wake up again, sitting in some alley on the street, begged for money and food? She had no idea while running, she began to slow down into jogs then slow strides… there she went again… dreaming of what was happening to her. A strong hand emerged through the curtain of the rain, grabbing her shoulder, snapped her from the depth of her thoughts. She was forced to turn to her predator. Before he spoke, the skies above screamed once more allowing him to question her one more time.

"I know who you are, tell me your name," he demanded. "Now."

She scowled but the pressure from the hold caused her to release a small squeak. "I… I don't have a name…" she answered, lowering her head. "Never had one. Everyone calls me, 'Maiden'."

"So, it _is_ you…"


	3. Rain Song

**Chapter 3: Rain Song**

"Ugh…"

The lost brown eyes opened. She pushed herself up and looked around. She was hidden in a dark alley by the garbage disposal unit. She heard rats scrambling in the debris and dust, squeaking and continued to consume their meal; a corpse of a crow. Everything was clear to her now; everything was the side effect of the high. She dusted herself before a sudden jolt of pain rushed through her arm forced her dry lips to part, released the scream. 'Maiden' leaned back against the wall, heaving puffs of exhaustion lifted into the air before it vanished. Her mind questioned what happened to her earlier was a dream or not; a man constantly questioning her name, interrogating and intimidating. Her shoulder seared with pain. It felt as if someone took a metallic ball and threw it into her shoulder. She thought it dislocated. Touching it, she yelped. She knew, she had several run-ins with the law because of her heritage. They seemed to figure it out every time she hid her identity. Natives weren't welcomed in Mortis. This land originally belonged to the Natives until plagued consumed it before it was further consumed, industrialized by white man. Sadly, she was the only one of her kind in this hellhole. She lost track how many times she was robbed, abused or raped… the memories hurt.

Then this question began to surface: why does he want to know her name? She remembered vaguely that she told him everybody called her 'Maiden' since she was young. What she didn't tell him was she had no biological parents to look after her, care, trust and love. No, unfortunately she was raised by a foster family she was thrown into. Why? She didn't know… nobody knew. Maiden's thoughts began to process again those painful, heart-stabbing memories she tried so hard to push away...

_-Flashback-_

"_I say we kill her! She's of no use to us looking like that!"_

"_Let's torture her instead!"_

_-End flashback-_

"Squishy female awake!"

Startled, she looked around for the voice, "W-Who's there?!"

The garbage disposal shook. Maiden moved away from it but then what she saw, she didn't believe; a small creature of steel crawled out before focusing four of its blue orbs on her. "Squishy female!!"

"T-The hell are you?!"

"Frenzy, my partner." a voice replied from behind.

"You…" she turned around spotting the black and white police car parked, bathing in the rain. She walked then ran with fists tightened and rammed on the hood.

"The hell do you want with me anyway?!"

"You have something I want,"

"Everybody wants something! He wants this! He wants that!" Maiden shrieked.

"I just wanted to ask you something… just to confirm my suspicions,"

Maiden stopped. Looking at the black and white car, she realized he or _it_ was a police vehicle nonetheless a talking one, questioning her about something. _Annoying as hell._ She slid down by one of the front tires, curled up allowing the rain sliding down her locks, down her cheek. Her eyes closed from exhaustion, pressed her forehead against her knees. In her mind, she wanted to talk to someone or in this case, something for a long time now but nobody reached out. She had been alone for quite sometime now since everybody shunned her away. She wondered where she went wrong. It was ironic though that she would be talking to an alien. _Hey, if this thing was some kind of reaper, I'm up for grabs,_ she thought sarcastically.

"Are you the one that ran away from home?" Barricade asked. "I see your face pasted all over the news."

Frenzy was already at work with small fingers dancing across the keyboard rigorously finding more information about 'Maiden'. Multiple images appeared one by one but there was barely any description of her in the missing data person's database. Frenzy peeked out, absorbing Maiden's features, trying to narrow down the search but something was not right; something was _wrong_. He texted this information to the larger mech who took notice but instead, he replied with, _"Just wait."_

"…Yes. If you're wondering why I ran away is because nobody wanted me." Tears of her own formed in her eyes but she fought it from being released but when she thought about it carefully, what difference would it make? It was raining and it was good to mask her tears she associated with her own weakness. "_Dammit, I refuse to cry about some shitty sob story._ I was abused by everybody; even my little sister… how pathetic is that? Well, step-little sister. Ugh, I used to be stronger than this. I used to kill pe—"

Maiden silenced, thinking carefully of what she just confessed.

"People you say?" he asked with a spark of interest.

Maiden buried her face deeper but in the same time, it was relieving to finally confess. A small smile formed on her lips, "I didn't mindlessly slaughter okay? I did it because I had to... it's not like I had a choice…"

The vehicle rumbled suddenly shaking Maiden out of her thoughts. She backed away watching the car transform before her very eyes. A flash of lightning skidded through the sky, dividing the clouds, temporarily blinding her. Opening her eyes once more, her eyes laid upon the huge bipedal monstrosity of metal glaring down at her. Those same blood red ruby eyes stared daggers at her. The sound of her heart amplified in her ears. Wiping the bangs out of her eyes, she focused at the alien.

"Barricade," he spoke. "That is my name."

She turned her back to him with shattered wing imprints on her jacket as the wind gently picked up. Her mouth moved slowly without any whispers of words but as the wind picked up speed, her gentle and soothing voice followed. Barricade did _not_ expect her to start singing lullaby's in the Cybertronian tongue under the curse of the moon and tears of the sky.


	4. Lullaby

**Chapter 4: Lullaby**

_-Flashback: Barricade's version-_

_Moonmetal gazed upon the sky with young optics watching stars glitter brightly along the cloak of darkness, spreading across Cybertronian skies. Cybertron was at peace… back then, there was no such thing called Autobot or Decepticon; optic color didn't matter. True, there were small squabbles but nothing was serious enough to initiate physical contact; all were small verbal wars, if one could describe. Other than that, the scene was calm with mechs and femmes minding their own business in the busy metropolis. Moonmetal turning back to her protector, her best friend and her big brother._

"_Moonmetal… can we sight see some other time? Your sister is waiting for us, you know? You know she has a temper."_

"_Oh come on, Barricade! I just arrived! Besides, devil can wait!!"_

"_Ahem, that's Dare-devil, missy" spoke a feminine voice from behind. Moonmetal chuckled, greeting her older (step) sister. "How's my little moody metal doing?"_

"_Hey!" Moonmetal gave her sister a small punch on the arm then delivered a tight squeeze. "I miss my sister!! And brother of course!"_

_Barricade stared at his two sisters; the eldest was named Dare-devil, identified by sharp horns on her head, the red and black painting over her body followed with yellow stripes down her arms and legs. What signified her most were Cybertronian engravings on her armor spelling out, "Dare" and "Devil". Dare-devil was accurately named due to her daring nature; she had a habit of performing crazy stunts in the city, just to earn a couple hundred creds. Many stunts she performed involved skyscrapers and herself, either climbing up the monstrosities or jumping from them, expecting to land on her feet, unscathed. Some called her completely insane while others admired her daring stunts. _

_And then there was young Moonmetal, their adopted sister. She had a much smaller frame than Dare-devil but size didn't bother her; it was the size of her Spark that mattered. Her Spark was as pure as it got; it nourished love and care for her siblings, even though she wasn't directly linked to them. She was mostly lavender and black with red stripes on each of her legs, running down from her pelvic plate. Her face was young and vibrant. Soft features painted her caring nature toward everyone and everything. What made her different from her siblings were her eyes; Barricade and Dare-devil had crimson, blood-shot eyes signifying their inner strength. With Moonmetal, her right optic was red but her left optic was blue…_

"Barricade?"

The empty sockets filled with red light, suddenly illuminated. Optics traced the voice down to Maiden, standing there with hands clutched tightly against her heart. Maiden stared at Barricade with worried brown eyes; what happened to him? Right after she began to sing, she noticed his optics fought to stay online. At first she dismissed it as small glitches but then it became apparent he was actually _fighting_ to stay online by low growls and twitching fingers.

"Ugh, what happened?"

Maiden shuffled her feet, "Well, you were having a difficult time trying to stay, um, online. Your optics dimmed and you remained stationary… until now. Are you okay?"

Twisting his head left to right, his optics returned to Maiden. Standing under a dimly lit street light, he saw her complexion; she was young with tanned skin, not too dark but light-medium brown. Her glossy eyes were not that large either, rather, large enough to see them displaying their deepest sorrows. Her hair was black as night tied loosely, hanging off her left shoulder. What caught his optics were black, curvy markings that wrapped around her neck, slithering down to her exposed belly and possibly further down her legs. Maiden noticed this and pulled her jacket together, hiding the marks.

"Where'd you get those marks?" he questioned, referring to the markings.

"These… these are nothing, really. Well, they used to be something…" a hand slithered down her belly, tracing those black string-like markings. Maiden sat on a steel box, eyes filled with sorrow. "These markings… they used to be important to me. They were burnt plants that were imprinted on me when I was young, from my tribe."

"Tribe?" he questioned, confused. He didn't understand what they meant by 'tribe' but to his understanding, it was like a group of people living together… somewhat like people living in the city.

Maiden nodded, "I come from a tribe which we believe humans emerged from the ground. Plants, flowers and trees are symbols of our tribe. I don't remember the name of our tribe since I was torn away from them when I was really young. By the time I knew it, I was thrown into a foster home… I hated it there… and then some guys came into the house and took me away to another place… and it's been like that ever since… I miss my step-sister and step-brother…" she muttered the last part quietly to herself. Maiden looked up into the Decepticon's optics, cocking her head. It was a time to change topic. "And what about you? What's your story here?"

"It is pointless for me to talk about it, human. What I want to know is how did you know that song? Also, singing it in our native tongue. _Hmm, those markings… they remind me of Dare-devil… no, it can't be. I kept insisting it was her but…_"

Maiden looked toward buildings, watching the rain sliding off them until they descended onto the ground, formulating her answer. Honestly, she had no clue where she learnt that melody. It was just there, in her head from the day her eyes opened. Although the melody was soothing, it carried a sad tune. The carried tune was like a tune sung by someone who knew they were about to die, in pain or lonely. She only sang that song when she felt lonely but since she met Barricade, the meaning of the tune suddenly changed into a more heartbreaking melody.

"I don't know where that song came from," Maiden replied. "I honestly don't know."

Barricade watched her, thinking of an answer while privately, he conversed with Frenzy. Frenzy kept on insisting that this Maiden never existed; there were no records of her existence but then again, nobody knew where she _truly_ came from. The only parts of her existence were pictures of her lacking descriptions.

"Maiden," he spoke, breaking the rain tunes. "Tell me something: do you anybody by the name of Dare-devil?"

"Nope, I never heard someone by that name. Believe me, it's hard to find names like that unless it's internet screen names." She walked off into the distance, under a porch taking her jacket off. Rinsing then shaking it, the wind picked up, ripping the jacket from her slender fingers. Maiden cried out, running after the jacket in flight. As she ran, the wind blew her hair away exposing her back with the words "_Dare" and "Devil"_ burnt and scarred deeply into her skin…


	5. Sibling Split

**Chapter 5: Sibling Split**

"Dare-devil?!" Barricade shot out of the dark. Maiden stopped in her tracks and turned to him.

"Excuse me?" Maiden turned around with her large brown eyes staring into the Decepticon's own. Placing her hands on her hips, completely ignoring her escaping jacket. "What are you suddenly screaming about, robot?"

Barricade saw Maiden's expression suddenly darken with brows knitted together, eyes beaming and head held high. "Your back had my sister's name imprinted on it! Even she had it burnt on her back!"

"What? I don't have anything burnt on my back except these plant markings!" Maiden turned around again, holding her hair into a bundle. "**Where?!**"

Barricade looked at her slender, bony back again hoping to see the words, Dare-devil burnt on but there was nothing. His processors wanted him to believe it was there. How could it be? Trickery. Again, he would think repetitively how could it be possible that his sister, Dare-devil could be in a form of a young lady? The last thing Dare-devil screamed to him was she left Moonmetal in the care of Barricade, right before the outbreak of the All Spark war.

She left him the moment she found out he enrolled himself into the newly formed Decepticon army, under Lord Protectorate Megatron. She didn't believe it! Her brother, so gentle, understanding and sane chose a road down to ruins where victory was guaranteed through madness, massacre and tyranny. Instead, he chose a permanent path consumed with power hungry mechs which unfortunately, included him.

_-Flashback: Barricade's version-_

"_**You did WHAT?!**__" Dare-devil's voice box almost short circuited itself out after stressing the last word. "__**HOW COULD YOU?!**__"_

"_Don't talk to me like that, __**femme**__!" Barricade delivered a back hand slap but Dare-devil caught it, twisted then kicked him on his chest plates. _

"_I can't believe you did that! What do you think you're doing?! Have you considered our feelings?!" Dare-devil growled staring at her younger brother with blood-piercing optics as her heel embedded in his throat._

"_Dare-devil! Barricade!" the voice of young Moonmetal exploded from the door. "What are you two doing?!" The youngling ran to her brother's side trying to pry off her sister's leg. Dare-devil continued the pressure on his throat, aiming to crush it until he got his senses back._

"_Stay out of this, Moonmetal! This is between your fraggin' brother and I!"_

"_No! Both of you are family! Please don't do this!" Moonmetal cried out, grasping Dare-devil's spiked leg. "I'm begging you!"_

_Watching the youngling, he pushed her away roughly. Landing with a loud thud, Moonmetal's optics watered but that didn't catch the attention of the siblings; both were fighting until one of them gave up or went permanently offline. There was nothing to do except scream for the insanity to cease! This wasn't happening! Not only there was a change in Barricade, Dare-devil changed herself; she transformed into an aggressive, rude, possessed and perhaps by an unknown force to which she displays at home or during her performances. This aggression began when she was courting a mech, who it was, Barricade didn't know, or rather, he didn't care. It was not only she, who changed. Barricade changed too, considering his enrolment into this new army, aiming for glory of the All Spark. _

_From his previous form, he altered his form to a more sinister, dark vehicle mode where darkness was his ally, the sun was his enemy. He hid in the shadows, stalking for prey… waiting to terminate. The idea of hiding in the shadows as a concealed force appealed to him greatly. Even the idea of hideous gyro blades made the Decepticon smirk long enough that his victims screamed in agony until their Sparks were extinguished._

'_WHAM!'_

_Barricade struck Dare-devil on the side of her helm after he successfully shoved her off, leaving a large gash by her audio receptor. She snarled; engaging into battle mode. Her optics burned bright, canines flashed and temper erupted. Moonmetal, leaning by the wall watched in horror while the siblings fought, tearing each other limb from limb. Energon splattered across the wall, seeping into gashes made by Barricade's claws and gyros. Moonmetal closed her optics, blinding her from the sight. She ran away from her family because they were abusive and now this family, whom she loved so much, was fighting each other. What could she, a youngling could do to make them stop? She knew that words would not transfer across the bridge of malice radiating between the two, no. She had to do something to get their attention. If words won't bridge some peace, maybe a song…_

_Both were down on their knees. The right side of Dare-devil's face was torn, exposing circuitry but she didn't care; as long as Barricade was injured enough he would suffer in hands of, oh she didn't know, Decepticon medics that refused to use anesthetics and hygienic tools, consumed with rust. He was no different either; his outer shell was torn out in places, especially his chassis which beneath lied the pulsing Spark. His left arm was rendered useless, ripped with cables dangling down and small electrical sparks fluttering. His face showed no pain, just kill._

"_You are the most repulsive—what?" Barricade stopped, listening to the soft, sweet song. Tracing the voice, his optics landed on Moonmetal who lifted her head high, and a hand gently placed where her Spark is, singing quietly. "Moon…metal…?"_

_The song was calm, a ballad causing their optics to blink on and offline. Dare-devil crawled to her sister's side, placing a hand on her cheek plates, stroking it softly. Bowing her head, she mumbled something inaudible to young Moonmetal before she stood up, throwing one last gaze over her shoulder. The entire place was ruined along with puddles of energon on the floor mixed between the siblings. Her optics returned to Moonmetal, who looked up at her step-sister._

"_Moonmetal, I'm sorry it had to end like this but… for the best, I… I have to go now… Barricade will take care of you…" Dare-devil paused and turned to her brother, "Take care of her well, she's the only family you'll have left, brother. One more thing… we may meet again someday… many vorns from now… take care…" after those painful, Spark ripping moments, Dare-devil left._

_He never heard from her again, after that painful day. He continued to look after Moonmetal even though Decepticon forces slowly mobilized, growing stronger with each passing day. He spent more days and nights at the Decepticon fortress rather at home, watching over his sister. Moonmetal waited by the window everyday for her brother to return home but every time he did return, he ignored her then dragged himself into his room and recharge._

_However, on one faithful day, Barricade returned early to pick up Moonmetal. He wanted her in the fortress also since rumors were spreading of Decepticon extremists burning complexes, injecting viruses into femmes, Spark-breaking them and other repulsive acts. He shook his head at the thought of them at his house, laying a finger on Moonmetal._

"_Moonmetal, I'm……home…" He stood there, standing in front of his complex, completely burnt to the ground. Moonmetal wasn't insight except for the writings etched onto the ground: __**HELP ME! BIG BROTHER! HELP…**__ Barricade fell onto his knees as fists rained down onto the message. He repetitively hammered the ground until his energy was exhausted; he knew that she was taken to one of the Decepticon forces but where… where? __**WHERE?!**_


	6. Optic Illusion

**Chapter 6: Optic Illusion**

_-Flashback: Barricade's Version-_

"_Misery… darkness… everything's been stolen from me. Not taken, stolen." Barricade mused quietly in the corner of the dimly lit recreation room, sliding his energon drink from right to left… left to right… right to left… counting the number of times he caught it. _

_Time didn't seem to matter to him anymore whether the sun was high in the sky, hidden behind blankets of smoke during the day or the moon hanging in the grim, black skies at night: nothing made a difference anymore. Why does it matter anymore? He thought by joining forces with the Decepticons would make his 'family' proud since he would be able to protect them as he became a soldier but now, what family did he have left? However, things were interesting when Decepticons raided Autobot compounds shooting, slashing, ripping, trampling anything; it made their energon lines boil with pleasure, no doubt. He experienced the thrill but at night when the raids were more violent._

_He was assigned to the night shift, hidden in alleys, waiting for prey until snatching them, using his rusted gyros slitting their throats with energon oozing as a miniature waterfall of terror. The body was then disposed of in ways unimaginable to the naked mind but he didn't care, it was enjoyable. On some moonless lit nights when the streets were only lit by dim streetlights, flickering… flickering… Small footsteps echoed in these deserted alleys, walking, 'Tap, tap, tap…' and soon 'Tap! Tap! Tap!' from slow paces to rapid movements, somebody was running away from something hidden within the sinister shadows. The victims were usually femmes or a more 'desirable' term, manikins which escaped from the Dollhouse beneath the streets._

_Running away was considered futile by many since each femme had a tracking device implanted in her, close to her Spark casing. If she however was not found in a certain amount of time, she would immediately detonate. If she carried a sparkling prior to her capture, it would be ripped out leaving her as an empty shell to play with. If she was an Autobot, however, things were quite different; at the Dollhouse, she would be auctioned off to the highest bidder… whom it may be. After that, nobody knew where the femmes end up… true, some would end up at the Decepticon bases and fortresses as a common sight but others… it was only up to imagination…_

_These particular streets Barricade was assigned to was considered haunted by many; sightings indicate a femme was spotted walking through walls, flickering in and out of sight and some, even claimed was the spirit from the All Spark. Barricade, however was more interested in the victims and femmes he caught every once in awhile to supplement his boredom although he wanted to be at the front lines shooting, tearing anything he could find with an Autobot insignia on it but orders were orders. Hidden in vehicle mode, he stared out onto the deserted streets watching as nothing passed by. It was in the middle of the quiet night—so quiet, he could hear his thoughts._

"_This is ridiculous," he said aloud, "Why the frag did they assign me here? The Dollhouse is so much more appealing than—"_

"_La, la, la, la, la…"_

"_What is that?!" he didn't see anything in front of him but the voice came from somewhere. Transforming, he quietly walked, pinned to the wall. It was the voice of a femme. _

"_La, la, la, la, la…" the voice sang again. "La, la, la, la, la…"_

"_She's mine!" he jumped out, hoping to startle the poor thing but no body was there; just empty space._

"_La, la, la, la…" the voice sang once again, slithering into his processors. "La, la, la, la, laaaaaaaaa…"_

_Gyros spun at such a speed it appeared as a massive spiked club. Barricade's ruby optics scanned the area but nothing was detected on the radar. "Show yourself, femme!" he demanded. "Do you know not to fool with Decepticons?!"_

"_La, la, I know." She sang again. "I know not to fool with them yet I please to. La, la, la… Hehehehe!"_

_Suddenly, all the lights on the street shattered leaving the moon to be its only source of light but soon, even the moon was hiding behind the thick, menacing clouds. _

"_You think you're powerful aren't you?" the voice spoke beside his audio receptors. "Hehe, you're not."_

"_**WHAT?!**__" turning around to grab, clawed fingers grabbed air._

"_Too bad… poor thing." A hand slithered onto his left shoulder. He swung around to face the unknown but still, nothing. He swore he saw a flicker of blue light in the corner of his optic but nothing was there: just endless space. He continued to think his optics were playing cruel, mindless tricks on him but they felt so real… so sinister…_

_For a moment the singing stopped but started again as a low, raspy singing with broken hymns in between; fog wrapped him in white and grey as the hymn became more broken. Only his crimson optics pierced through the blanket of fog. What he saw in the distance was a dark figure with hands on its hips. It had wings projecting from the back, yet slightly drooped. He concluded it was some type of craft but what it was, he had no idea. It seemed it had another set of wings below the main ones, slanted outwards. Blue optics stared back at him following a high-pitched laugh, touching his every circuit in that metallic frame. He immediately recognized that voice…_

"_V-Virus?!" stammering out words he never wanted to say._

"_Maybe," she sang. "Maybe."_

"_What do you want, femme?!" Barricade continued to ensure himself that Virus was an illusion: __**she did not exist!**__ But it was hard when her voice rang though his audio receptors, registering that malice consumed tone. Fraggit, she was even more deranged than some of the 'Cons on base, only rival to Megatron, of course._

_Bold for him to spit that out as Virus, an unusual Transformer had the ability to control time for a limited period of time, re-winding or stopping time. It was not long ago she joined the Decepticon forces in order to dominate Cybertron along with gaining the possession of the All Spark everybody craved. Those blue optics she possessed were not to be deceived to be an Autobot's for she could change it when she pleased. Her voice was uncomforting when she spoke; she spoke in riddles, driving her prey mad. Other times her voice dripped with malice only to accompany her smiling face. When she laughed, she meant harm. It was instant death._

"_Looking for Moonmetal perhaps?" Virus smirked even though he could not see it. "She's in the Dollhouse beneath… all chained up… corrupted, broken… poor doll… if you were smart enough you would have gone down there and possibly 'saved' her."_

_The fog tightened, ever constricting him but he fought to speak. "I don't need your help, femme! This is none of you business either!"_

"_What about me telling you that your sister, cries for her big brother every night, hm? Every night," Virus shook her head approaching closer as her heels clicked onto the ground, "She's always with a different mech waiting for her demise but in her Spark, she waits desperately for her big brother who can't even rescue her. Why do I know this? I see her pain, Barricade, I can see what she wants most."_

"_Where are you going with this?!" he tried to move. His arms were frozen; he realized she was using time to control the fog._

"_What I'm trying to say: would you dare and rescue your sister knowing that she's with the High Lord Protectorate? Hm? Think about it. Hehe… Trust a ghost or not, it's up to your choice," she sang. "I'll come by later to see what you're going to do about it, hehehe, la, la, la, laaaaaa."_

_Before he answered, the fog regained motion, swirling around the femme, consumed her until she vanished from sight._

"_La… La… La… Ha ha ha… __**HA, HA, HA!**__ It's too late to save her now!" the eerie laughter dissipated though anchored deeply into his memory._

"_**LIAR!**__" he spat but again… why would Virus lie? That femme was one of the most unpredictable and deceiving but she was good at telling the truth even though her truths could be straight lies._

_Standing in front of the entrance to the underworld, the fog was dense carrying the stench of rusted, decayed metal corpses from beneath. _

"_I do __**not**__ want to go in…"_

The rain finally ceased. Clouds departed quickly leaving a blanket of stars scattered in the sky and the moon shining bright in its glory. Maiden stared at Barricade from a small balcony to his left wondering what made the large 'Con zone out. It seemed like every time he recalled a memory, he blanked out; she figured those memories were painful and somehow, haunting. She hugged herself tighter thinking of her memories that kept her alive at night; the day some men broke down the house door, ripping her from her family. It happened so many times, she lost count.

"Ha ha," that was the only thing she could muster to do: laugh at the sad memories.

At the last foster home she was at, the children were more kind, gentle and open while the parents didn't give a shit about anybody except themselves; they devoted their lives to women, men and gambling. The eldest brother was kind to her; he always helped her with the house chores, play with her and teach her. She was grateful for someone so kind—somebody with a heart. And there was the other sibling, his sister. She was extremely hilarious by nature! Telling jokes, making them laugh, playing pranks—all in a day's work. Maiden hugged herself tighter when she tried to remember their names… not even the slightest clue entered her mind. Why was she thinking about this now? It wasn't like she wanted to cry but she suddenly felt the loneliness slowly consuming her bit by bit… taking small bites out of her very soul.

"_Why am I still alive?" _She thought time and time again. _"I killed a person… who really deserved to die but to me… the guilt is too much! Owww… the burn marks… they're burning again… maybe, I should just tell this Barricade my side of the story even though he may not be interested in it… I just want someone to listen…"_


	7. Burn

**Chapter 7: Burn**

It was a beautiful day outside listening to the songs of birds traveling with the gentle wind, rustling the leaves softly around my village. Everything was perfect; I thought sitting beside my mother as my hands weaved baskets from soaked cedar wood. I could hear her gentle hum. Everything was perfect, I repeated over and over making my heart at peace. Everything was like a dream... I remembered that day; I was in the longhouse constructed of cedar logs sitting quietly by the fire until I heard loud noises outside. Those loud noises were voices of the tribe, screaming, pleading until it all came to a halt. What happened?

Smoke entered the longhouse bringing forth the ashes, dancing with the wind sending the dead into the heavens. It then dawned upon me the ugly truth; we were being invaded! I bit my lip until it bled, thinking. I knew the treaty forged a week ago was false and yet, nobody took me seriously. My father dismissed it and continued business as usual. I knew, my father never listened to me because I was a girl. Even so, I thought, he could at least heed my words of warning before everything was too late. I snapped out of my thoughts as I stood on my feet. The door blasted open as figures invaded into the longhouse. Before my mind could register, I felt a blow to the back of my head before my eyes surrendered into total darkness...

"_What's happening? What's going on? Mom? Dad? Brother? Sister? Everybody?"_ I thought as my thoughts swam in my mind. I heard voices talking but in a language I did not understand. If I could cry, I would but then was it too late to shed tears of the sky? Was the moon also crying for me? Were my ancestors crying for me? I was alone...

My eyes opened once again with darkness greeting me with malice. I could taste it in the air. Those people had brought me some place I did not know of... some place that I would be frightened for the rest of my life. I was afraid but I tried to be strong! But... all of my confidence dissipated as a string of light widened on the floor. I covered my eyes again waiting for something, anything to happen. Strong hands grabbed my legs, dragged me out of the darkness then thrown onto the concrete floor. I felt my nose crush under the impact. Red liquid oozed out. I quickly plugged my nose as I bit my tongue. _This is nothing_, I continued to recite. Although I was not a boy, I can sure be as tough as one! When my eyes opened again, I saw feet belonging to a white skinned man. The looks on their faces were terrifying to me. They tried to dig into my skin, figuring out what sort of creature I was. I was human but just different. I came to the realization that there was no escape. My fate was decided; I was to spend the rest of my life here in this hellhole but there was nothing I could do... I was far away from my family. _May the spirits look after me._

A year dragged by painfully as I was yet again transported and thrown into another house. This house I felt was different; the people were very different. They had red eyes but they meant no harm. The adults of the home only knew how to bark orders to me and expect me to obey them like some dog. The children, the elder brother and sister were nice to me. They took care of me as if I shared their blood. The sister would teach me things, dress me up or even tell jokes. The sister was beautiful. I've never seen such beauty. She had a beautiful build, long legs, a gorgeous sculpted face, long silky black hair and a smile that couldn't be replaced by the sun's radiance. Though I understood her beauty was not to be taken for granted; she was _tough_. The elder brother, as I thought, name escaped me but he was a good person. He was the one who taught me this language called 'English'. Once I remembered he stood up for me in front of a gang of troubled boys that wanted to harm me. He fought them off bravely with his own fists... even his sister joined! By the end of the day, the siblings won and the boys that tried to attack me whimpered with tails tucked between their legs. They were so kind to me and I was deeply grateful. I was honoured to call them my step-siblings!

Things soon changed after my step-brother received this new job. I didn't know what it was but my step-sister was furious about it. They started to argue verbally then they began to hit each other. I heard the noise from my room so I came out to see. The house was a mess with shards of ceramic on the floor, a sea of glass scattered through but nothing was more heartbreaking than my sister's face; it was bloodied and torn. My brother was no better. Soon, my sister had to leave and from that day onward, she never returned. I didn't understand why she left but then again, I barely understood both of them even though they showered me with love. The parents of the home one day vanished also. I asked brother where they had gone but he never replied. Brother always said, "Do not worry about them," What was that suppose to mean?

Since that day, brother took care of me even though in his new job required him to stay at his post daily but it didn't bother me, I was perfectly capable of looking after myself. Everything was normal until one day, the nightmare soon returned; the house was raided and I was taken away! I tried to kick and scream but I knew I was powerless against five grown men. I questioned why things were like this?! Why couldn't I live in peace?! I cried out of big brother but it was hopeless. I hoped, with all my heart that my voice would be heard but I was wrong; it was never heard. My brother never came... instead... I was faced with bigger problems at hand...

_-Flashback: Barricade's Version-_

"_This is disgusting," Barricade mumbled as he walked through the underground tunnel that lead to the Dollhouse. Severed wires scattered all over the place, bodies of disposed sparkling frames were either moulded to the wall or laid on the sides as empty optic sockets stared into visitors. Even bodies of disposed femmes laid there or hung from the ceiling as reminders of those who tried to escape but were destroyed in the process. Nothing was safe. The faceplates of the deactivated seemed to bother him the most; it seemed they tried to plead for a way to escape this miserable situation but in the end, everything was futile. Femmes were constantly used as manikins regardless of who they were bonded to or they were kidnapped from a loving household. "This is it: the Dollhouse. Inside, Moonmetal must be inside. I can feel it..."_

"_Going to find your sister huh?" Virus appeared sliding down from the ceiling, down the wall and in front of him, "Your sister is in there... I hope it's not too late... hehe." _

"_What do you want?!" Barricade spat, ready with his cannons aimed at Virus. "Aren't you supposed to be with Megatron pleasing him?"_

"_Ha," Virus replied. "No, that's your sister's job. You should know, my interests have nothing to do with that leader of yours. Besides, this is about you, is it not?"_

_That... hit a circuit. __**Hard**__. "Why you little glitch!"_

"_I'm just being honest," Virus shrugged and laughed. "Besides, it's not my position to tell you what she's going through. Poor thing... her spark is yearning for her brother."_

"_You're really trying my patience, femme."_

"_What if I am? I—"_

_Before Virus finished her sentence, her midsection left a gaping hole from one energy blast. She laughed hysterically. She saw loose wires and spilled energon but she didn't care; she couldn't die! She was a virus after all... she wasn't created the way the other Transformers were, oh no, absolutely not. Her creator made sure that she was created differently. It does not matter... she was just a messenger to taunt the poor 'Con. Another blast blew one of her lower wings apart exposing its circuitry, forcing her to stumble backwards and vanished. Barricade blasted the wall again, making sure she was gone for good before returning his attention back to the direction of the Dollhouse. _

_With each step, his circuits tingled with anxiety. His Spark pulsed, zapped him with strong electrical surges. The feeling was strange, he thought to himself taking each step with caution, canon poised. In the far distance, his audio receptors slowly received SOS signals. His steps became larger. Without knowing he dashed deeper into the tunnel, blasted down the metallic door. All optics lay upon him. Some snarled while others ignored his intrusion. _

"_Moonmetal..." Barricade said quietly, optics scanning the dark room. _

_There, he saw bodies of discarded femmes with crushed chassis and... The unimaginable horrors. His optics located one femme, curled up in a corner, frightened. Her paintjob was ruined, replaced by scratches and damage. He walked up to her cautiously though quite nervous the young femme might not be his younger sibling. It was before his clawed digits touched her; the femme startled and shot a death glare at him but soon, she realized..._

"_Barri—?" her voice cracked. _

_ He watched her almost in horror at the contorted, twisted body of the femme. Her legs were mangled beyond repair, her feet crushed, her hands mangled. Tightening his fists, he thought of the past; he remembered the past of a loving family—a caring youngling and now... she was right there within reach. Releasing his fist, he extended his clawed digits to her but suddenly, his hand was blasted away. Titanium digits scattered across the ground. The walls were splattered with energon. Barricade released a growl at the intruder. It was none other than Virus._

"_Oops," she sang blowing the tip of her rifle. "Gotcha,"_

_ Before he was able to react, the other mechs in the room pinned him onto the ground while another picked up Moonmetal's fragile body. She didn't say a word. Instead, she nodded at Virus._

_Aiming her rifle at his head she said, "This reunion is terminated,"_

"_**You little glitch!**_"

"_Ah, ah, ah," she waved the rifle, "No swears now."_

"_..."_

"_Take her away to the Lord Protectorate's chambers," turning her attention back to the enraged Decepticon, she pushed the rifle closer to his helm, "I wouldn't rescue her if I were you. The Lord has been rather... angry of quite late,"_

"_**MOONMETAL!**__"_

_ He watched in horror watching his sister taken away before his very optics. She didn't move nor speak except shutting down her optics. It was painful, watching her act this way. She never gave up hope, not like this, not now. Virus motioned the other 'Cons to throw him onto a table, strapping his limbs. They stood behind the femme watching their follow comrade struggle and curse. She walked around him absorbing his anger and hate. Ah yes, it fed her. Slightly bored, she shot his leg. Listening to him scream filled her audio receptors with joy. Walking toward his helm and she bent down whispering into his audio receptors._

"_What took you so long to come for your dear sister?" Virus questioned, tapping the rifle against his bruised helm._

"_..."_

"_On the day she was taken, I saw her thrown around the complex from mech to mech. They taunted her, touched her, ripped her and listened to her scream for your name. You never heard it did you?"_

"_..."_

"_I ordered them to never speak a word about it to you. Of course if they did, they faced dire consequences,"_

_ Virus suddenly released a shot to the mech behind her, hitting him right in the face. Barricade watched the mech's face contort and melt. Pieces of shrapnel scattered across the floor, dissolving into toxic liquid. _

"_And that is just phase one," she smirked._

"_Why... why do you taunt me femme?"_

"_I'm just a messenger," she shrugged. "Besides, don't you want to know why she was brought here in the first place?"_

_ The area echoed with bullet shots._

"_Ah, she's here,"_

_ Everybody moved away from the enraged Decepticon. Footsteps were closer until a figure appeared in the door frame with malicious red optics illuminating the . Everybody, including Virus bowed. The sick femme turned back to the 'Con._

"_I do hope you remember Dare-devil."_


	8. Memories

**Chapter 8: Memories**

"How is the fleshling doing?"

Frenzy looked up at his colossal partner hidden within shadows of rundown apartment buildings. The small robot shook his head turning his attention back to the young fleshling sleeping on a make-shift bed made entirely of boxes. The clouds roared followed by cold, heavy tears of the sky. Red optics stared at Maiden, who lay motionless, curled up into a fetal position. There was something with this fleshling that felt all too familiar. The more he conversed with her, the more he felt closer to her. Turning away, it reminded him too much of his younger sibling, Moonmetal.

Recalling last week's surveillance, he watched from a distance Maiden and Frenzy whom was disguised in a long trench coat with a facemask and a hat. Maiden needed money and Frenzy was the one offering his services; hacking into the ATM, implanting a virus and temporarily shutting down security cameras, he pulled out several hundred dollars for Maiden who remained off site. As quick as he hacked it, he was gone. The smaller 'con returned to Maiden with stacks of cash. She felt awful about it but she needed the medication for her persistent bronchitis, aching joints and contraceptives. Hacking out droplets of blood, she thanked Frenzy taking the money and disappearing around the corner.

Barricade knew Maiden was ill. He never understood the physiological aspects of a human but he could tell when one was unwell. Turning back to Maiden, he watched her twitch uncontrollably before she shot up, coughing violently. Quite unsure what to do, Frenzy gently rubbed her back as she hacked, desperately gasping for air. A small trail of red slipped from the corner of her mouth, falling onto her ripped jeans.

"You should seek medical attention," Barricade spoke against the sound of roaring thunder.

Maiden shook her head, "I can't. I don't have any medical insurance. Who would want to treat me? I'm a homeless person. A nobody. Nobody cares in this city to give a damn."

She inhaled and exhaled. Frenzy heard the sound of wheezing with every exhaled breath. The smaller 'con turned to his partner asking him for instructions. What could they do? In this damned city, it was survival of the fittest. Everybody knew the hospitals here were nothing more than money grabbing institutions that served at the feet of the rich and powerful. Homeless and lower class persons never stood a chance. Those damned bastards greet you with fake smiles at the door but when you got inside, it was all lies. Those nurses in white, you know, as some people call them around here 'angels' gave you false hope. You could wait there for an entire week and no doctor would come and see you. They'll leave you to die.

"Frenzy, help me up."

Reaching for the smaller 'cons' clawed digits, Maiden pushed herself sitting upright. Pressing a hand against her chest, she couldn't even stand on her two feet right without help; that was how pathetic and weak she became. Cursing profanities, she released from Frenzy and wobbled over to the larger Decepticon.

"Walk with me?"

Barricade transformed into vehicle mode as Frenzy hopped in the passenger's seat following Maiden onto the main roads. Old cars and trucks whizzed by them, splashing mud onto the pavement. Maiden walked with hands behind her back absorbed in her own world.

"She strange," Frenzy chirped at his partner. "Something not right."

The larger 'con remained silent. He knew what Frenzy was implying; Maiden was not who she said she was. Could it be mere coincidence that she acted like Moonmetal down to the last detail? Like his sister, Maiden was strong in the inside but outside she was an enigma… Shaking the thoughts of his sibling out of his head, Barricade focused on Maiden who continued to walk past stores with shattered display windows. Her hand wandered into the store picking up several gold and silver bracelets. Putting them on, she continued her walk reaching a playground. Jumping onto the swing, she pushed herself off with hands tightly grasped the chain.

"You know, Barricade you act a lot like my big brother," Maiden abruptly spoke. Her long, messy raven hair hid her smile. "So secretive and silent, just the way he is!"

"Does your brother have a name?"

Maiden breathed recalling the memories with more raindrops sliding off her face, "I don't remember his name. Hey speaking of siblings, do you have any siblings?"

Barricade hesitated. He once avoided the question but there was nothing more to hide, was there? Trugh be told, he really didn't want to bring up his past. The vehicle rumbled before the engine died. "I had two siblings: Dare-devil and Moonmetal. Dare-devil and I were siblings by Spark. Moonmetal was adopted."

Frenzy hopped out of the vehicle walking to the swing set sitting next to Maiden. The smaller 'con tried pushing himself off but his legs were too short. Maiden chuckled. Getting off the swing, she lent him a hand. Walking behind Frenzy, she pulling the 'con toward her and gently pushed him; the rest was up to momentum. Returning to the swing, she sat paying attention to Barricade. Lightning streaked across the sky illuminating the area once more before everything was replaced by the sound of rain and the whispering wind.

"Dare-devil was older than I was. She was intelligent, knowledgeable and blunt. The only problem with her was her attitude. She loved performing daring stunts for crowds. She loved it. Hence her name: Dare-devil."

"And Moonmetal?"

"She was young and naïve. Her Spark was filled with life…" he trailed off. Retrieving several memory files, he played them in his head. There, he saw the images of his destroyed home and Moonmetal's message to him. "She was taken about the time the war begun."

"Oh…" Maiden said quietly shaking her head. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to bring up painful memories…"

"Think nothing of it," Barricade replied gruffly closing the files. "What's done is done, none of us could change it. We live through each moment of everyday to make sure we regret nothing. We could talk about the past all we want but it would only bring anguish. It's best to be left alone."

He talked too much already. Turning the engine back on, he called back his partner. Frenzy jumped off the swing getting into the passenger's seat. The backdoor snapped open signalling for Maiden to join them.

"Come,"

Maiden hopped off the swing running to the vehicle. With doors slammed shut, Barricade drove back into the city. Driving down the empty streets of the ghostly city began taking effect on Maiden. She watched old, decaying buildings crumbling before her eyes. Every so often she caught sight of street rats—looters and robbers committing crimes. She quickly turned her head the moment she saw a man raise a baseball bat in the air. She didn't want to know what was going to happen next. May the victim rest in peace, she prayed.

Arriving at a local supermarket, Maiden hopped off to get some food supplies. The doors of the store slid open with a hiss. The man at the counter eyed her carefully. Dismissing she wasn't a threat, he returned to reading the daily newspaper, blowing out rings of smoke. She walked down the aisle picking up necessities: sanitary napkins, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, dental floss, band aids, vitamins and some food items. Heading to the counter, she was about to pull out cash until the stores doors hissed. A group of rogues entered with spiked baseball bats wrapped in thick chain.

_Shit._

"Hey boys, look what we got here," the group of five men surrounded her. One of them touched her behind while another lifted her chin up. "Bingo."

_Keep cool Maiden, keep cool._

"What you say men? Should we take turns?"

Maiden snapped her head, biting down onto the man's hand.

"Feisty little bitch aren't you?" he hissed, delivering a backhand. Spitting out the gum in his mouth he turned to the sales clerk. "And you should be terminated."

Just like that, the trigger was pulled. The man behind the counter succumbed to a bloody mess; brain matter exploded onto the cigarette stands. Before she could free herself, hands shot at her from all directions pinning her face first onto the counter.

"N-No!" Maiden shrieked. "**BARRICADE! FRENZY! WHERE ARE YOU?**"

Barricade was nowhere to be found; after Maiden entered the store, Barricade drove off circling the perimeter for rouges. Driving over spike strips in a small, tight back alley, he found himself stuck.

"Frag." The vehicle rumbled, rocking from side to side. He slowly backed out of the alley, doors scraping along the graffiti plastered walls. The sound of screeching metal drove him insane! He backed out enough for Frenzy to escape out the backdoor. "Find Maiden."

Frenzy looked around, heading toward the store. Outside were five parked motorcycles. Inside were the hooligans in question and Maiden, pinned onto the counter, physically assaulted.

"Maiden!" Frenzy's voice cracked, guns blazing.

Bullets rained inside the store. Food items exploded, glass shattered, drinks spilled and blood splattered in every which way. Maiden took the opportunity reaching to a pen, turning around stabbing the man's member before kicking him off her. Quickly clothing herself, she covered her head rushing towards Frenzy, avoiding the shower of bullets.

"Where's Barricade?"

"In back alley, two blocks away. Stuck."

"God dammit! Frenzy, let's go!"

Both were about to escape until one of the rogues slammed Frenzy with a microwave sending the small 'con spiralling out of control, slamming into the magazine stand. Maiden darted to friend and was caught.

"**FRENZY!**" Maiden struggled within the man's arms. She bit down on his arms before a solid punch was delivered straight into her gut from another man. She wheezed, gasping for air, calling out Barricade's name.

Barricade extricated himself from the confinement and transformed, heading to the store. Quite frankly, he didn't _care_ if any fleshlings saw him. Ripping the roof off the store, he glared at the culprits. There, he saw Maiden struggling in the arms of a man while the other pulled out several firearms, shooting at the Decepticon. To the right was his partner laying motionless. Rage boiled within his circuits. Barricade reached out to one of the men grabbing him tightly severing his body with his clawed digits. Throwing the corpse aside, he focused his attention to the last man standing. The man released Maiden, pulling out a forty-five calibre from his back pocket.

"I don't know what the fuck are you but you don't scare me!"

Proving his point, he shot into Maiden's right leg. She screamed, tears profusely flowed from her cheeks. Her shrieks sent Barricade off the edge. Aiming his fist at the man, Barricade shot multiple bullets into the man's face. Maiden was released, dropped onto her knees. She didn't dare look back to see what Barricade had done to his face, let alone his head. Crawling to Frenzy, his blue optics flickered online.

"Oh thank god! You're okay!" Maiden exclaimed hugging her robotic friend. "So happy!"

Frenzy pushed himself up looking at Maiden. Her body suddenly went limp. Looking down, there was a trail of red trickling from between her legs.

"Maiden bleeding!" Frenzy frantically chirped. Scanning through data files in his mind, there was absolutely nothing he could do except convince his partner to take Maiden to the hospital. "**What we do? What we do?**"

Barricade bent over, picking up Maiden's body. He made sure his clawed digits didn't rip into her already bruised flesh. His other hand shielded her from the rain. Instantly, old memory files popped up in his mind reminding him of the day he entered the Dollhouse making eye contact with Moonmetal. He wasn't going to allow the same thing to happen as it did to Moonmetal. Nobody was going to take the things he treasured most away from him again. He already witnessed Moonmetal slip between his fingers already; he was going to make sure the same thing didn't happen with Maiden.

Turning to his partner Barricade spoke, "Contact the Autobot, Ratchet."

He turned around walking down the bruised, empty streets of downtown with the skies, angrier than before. The wind picked up, howling a haunting Cybertronian song he remembered many millennia ago.


	9. Fragmentation

**Chapter 9: Fragmentation**

_-Flashback: Barricade's Version-_

"_**Please step back!**__" Moonmetal backed into a corner holding a sharp blade in her hand right over her wrist. One of her wires was exposed, barely attached. If she were to slide the blade across the wire… "__**I'm warning you! BACK OFF!**__"_

_ Barricade didn't know what to do. His sister, cornered with a blade pressed against her wrist waiting for quick release. He understood she wouldn't instantly die but she would lose all functionality in her left arm. Moonmetal glared at the Decepticon, eyes narrowed into slits. She told herself she was going to do it! It was the best solution at the time when she couldn't get a rifle. Cornered, frightened and at the edge of madness, she wanted to end it all! Her blue and red optics glanced down at her mangled legs then moved her attention to the Decepticon. _

_ Barricade released a huff of smoke slowly backing away from the enraged femme. Placing his hands up, he showed her he had no concealed weapons. He hoped his gestures were enough for the femme to understand he was no threat but then again, any robots with red eyes were not considered 'trust-worthy'. He watched her move the blade away from her wrist eyeing the Decepticon wearily._

_He knew he had to say something soon. "Moonmetal," he began. "Do… you remember me?"_

"_The brother that didn't come when I needed him most? __**Who could forget?**__" she snapped, blue and red optics flashed. Her processor conjured up images in her head—lies to make herself feel better every moment of her existence. She imagined her brother coming to save her, shield her from evils and bring her home._

_Guilt swarmed his processors. He tried and tried to find his sister but no matter how much he searched, she got farther and farther away. Staring directly into her optics he said, "I'm here now." His tone was strong declaring to the femme he—Barricade as her brother returned to save her._

"_Too late," the blade was made its way deep into her open chassis piercing her Spark Core._

_-End Flashback-_

"**MOONMETAL!**" Barricade shot out of his sleep-like state looking around. His memories were too real. Placing a hand over his face, he questioned: how many times must he need to relive this nightmare? Every time his optics switched off, his processors kicked in, playing tricks with his already torn mind. It was a game he was willing to give up on.

Feeling a nudge from below, the Decepticon gazed down meeting his partner's multi-blue optics. Frenzy understood Barricade's pain although the larger 'con would never admit his weakness. He was a Decepticon and Decepticons have no weakness! Every Decepticon abide by those rules, except Barricade who was tormented by his memories. If he wanted to, he could turn those memories into fragments but Barricade could never force himself to perform such a feat.

The sound of shuffling caught his attention; there he saw his nemesis, an Autobot at him.

"**What?**" Barricade snapped pushing himself off the wall. "Contemplating of sawing my head off while I recharge?"

Ratchet grunted, "I'd love to but I do not perform such feats unless I'm tempted to. And speaking…" Ratchet snipped at the Decepticon, "I'm _very_ tempted right now."

_Rubbish talk._ Barricade thought approaching the medical officer carefully. Behind Ratchet was the body of Maiden lying on the table, ceasing to move. Only the slow, rising and falling off her chest indicated she was alive. "How is the fleshling?"

"You? A Decepticon concerned for a human's well-being?" Ratchet questioned, quite dumb-founded by the Decepticon's concern. Turning around to Maiden he replied professionally, "As suspected, she's been through a lot mental and physical trauma, without question. I am unable to examine her physical condition without the right equipment. It doesn't take a miracle worker to tell she's in extreme pain and anguish. Would you mind telling me what exactly happened?"

Could he? Remembering what he saw, he told the Autobot everything. He was forcing himself to seal away the memories of his sister also; he did not want to mix up both stories, even though both were eerily similar.

"I see," Ratchet spoke after ten minutes, information absorbed. Looking down at Maiden he said, "If I were you I would take her to Mission City and seek proper, medical attention. There are options for her."

"I cannot do that," Barricade said watching Maiden intently. "I cannot…"

"So you just want to leave her be? As she is?"

Barricade lowered his head. "If she's in so much pain, why not let sleep release her?" This was the only thing he managed to think of; if she was in so much pain and torment, wouldn't it be best for her to sleep it off? Never again did she need to wake up to daytime nightmares. Never again did she need to struggle to survive…

Ratchet's fists balled. He recalled: Barricade traveled _all_ this way into Autobot territory knowing full well he was an easy target. And then what? He was just going to _give up_ on the human and let her _die_? No doubt about it, the girl was in a bad position—suffering even but it wasn't his choice to decide her fate. It wasn't his choice to take away her life, like he did with others. Ratchet always believed: there would always be light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dark the tunnel may be. The thought of allowing the girl slip through his fingers was unbearable.

Ratchet moved his blue optics back down to the girl. He was surprised when Frenzy managed to contact him via a hidden, emergency channel. At first the Autobot assumed it was a trap but then something along the lines made Ratchet reconsider Frenzy's words:

**Help! Female need help! Ratchet save female life! Meet Barricade at sunset at nineteen hundred hours!**

When Barricade arrived with Maiden in his hand, Ratchet was mortified; Maiden suffered cuts, bruises not only externally but the Autobot caught a foul scent from inside her; there were definitely injuries from within. He assumed Maiden was gang raped before Barricade eliminated the threat. Ratchet questioned: How much could one person take before they truly, believed they could let go of all their pains? How much could one person take through times of suffering? Humans were strong, no doubt about it but… sometimes, things were too bleak. But she proved something: although fragile, she was strong enough to breathe with each passing second.

Shaking himself out of morbid thoughts, he noticed something peculiar on Maiden's left wrist: cuts. The scars healed over the weeks and maybe, this was a hypothetical thought, maybe with the arrival of Barricade and Frenzy, she stopped tormenting herself.

He questioned what made her push herself off the edge several times? It was not his to say nor was it his place to ask. He was here to help her regain her health; that was it. He wished he had proper medical facilities to treat humans but even he, a well known and well respected medical officer, didn't quite understand the mechanics of a human being.

The way the Decepticon acted piqued Ratchet's curiosity; there was something about Barricade that showed great concern toward the human. Maybe it may or may not be linked but during the years on Cybertron, he recalled hearing about neutrals enrolling into the Decepticon army, right before war broke out. He remembered hearing a neutral whose home was destroyed by Decepticons taking away his sister. As rumor went, the bot was left to wander what happened to his sister… but rumors were rumors. Ratchet then wondered: could that bot be Barricade who may have had lost his sister? Staring back at Maiden, the Decepticon showed great concern toward this human in a brotherly manner.

"Barricade," Ratchet moved to the table picking up a damp warm cloth. Bending down, he instructed Frenzy to clean Maiden's arms. Returning his attention to the large Decepticon he continued, "I know it is none of my business but why do you express such concern to a human? It is very un-Decepticon like,"

Barricade knew where Ratchet was going with this. "You are right on one thing: it _is_ none of your business. Why I take interest in the human is none of your concern."

"Does this relate to your past?" Barricade tensed. "I do not know if you remember the rumors on Cybertron on how a bot lost his sister before the war."

"What of it?" Barricade snapped, trying to hide his secret. Yes, indeed that bot was him. He didn't want to relive the past through the Autobot's words.

Ratchet crossed his arms, "You express a very brotherly attitude toward the girl and—"

"Drop it," Barricade walked away from the Autobot crossing his arms, staring at the night's sky. "Who wants to hear old stories when it means nothing? Do your job and fix her. That is why I seek you."

Ratchet wasn't going to argue. "Very well. But just so you know _Barricade_," Ratchet stressed his name bitterly, "If anything else befalls on his human and I hear of it, consider your life to be very, _very_ painful onwards."

Barricade snickered at the threat, "I'll keep that in mind."

The nights got slower; Ratchet radioed Bumblebee to bring along Sam and Mikaela. When the trio arrived, Bumblebee was ready to blast off Barricade's head but Ratchet intervened; now was not the time to fight, Ratchet warned. Hesitantly, Bumblebee agreed but kept a close eye on the 'con. Sam and Mikaela approached the table eyes falling on the weak form of Maiden.

"Who is she?" Mikaela asked.

"A girl Barricade rescued," Ratchet replied. The humans looked in disbelief. Since when 'Barricade' and 'rescue' could be placed in the same sentence?

"Oh," Mikaela moved her hands holding Maiden's left hand, taking notice of the healed slits on her wrist. "I guess she had a very hard life in order to do this."

Sam found it difficult to speak. Laying in front of him was a girl who possibly was younger than him sustaining injuries he only saw in crime movies. What made him sick to his stomach was the amount of blood covered on her ripped jeans.

"Sam, Mikaela," Ratchet looked down at the two. "I'm going to give you a list of things to get for me. It's nothing much but it'll help the girl. Do you accept?"

"Yes, of course!" Sam replied. "I'd hate to see her like this…"

"I'll write out a list of medical supplies and such," the teens looked at each other. Ratchet weakly smiled, "No, no, I didn't mean expensive medical supplies, kids. Household First Aid things, like that."

"Oh, sure," Sam replied.

Crawling from behind Ratchet's leg was Frenzy. Sam tensed, fists tightened, sweat beads rolled down his forehead. Ratchet relayed the information to Frenzy who picked up a piece of paper translating everything into English. The small 'con cautiously approached the two teens. He remembered when Sam kicked his head. Giving the paper to Mikaela, Frenzy dashed to his silent partner. The teens nodded at each other, signaling Bumblebee to transform back into vehicle mode. As the teens left, Ratchet held Mikaela back for a moment. Placing his large hand on the ground, she hopped on.

Raising her to eye level, as quietly as he could he said, "Do not forget to pick up Plan B pills and a pregnancy test. If you have clothes that may fit her, bring them back here as well. And please do not tell anybody about this."

Mikaela nodded. Her face reflected pain and sadness. She thought to herself: how much could one person take? Ratchet placed Mikaela down, watching her run to Bumblebee. Just like that the trio was out of sight. Barricade shuffled, turning his head around gazing at the Autobot, arms still crossed. Although he hated to say it but… he'll let it slide, just this once.

"Ratchet, I thank you…" he broke off thinking of his next words carefully. "Please save her, she's the only thing left linked to me."


End file.
